26 Apr 2016

72 Hours in Berlin

Long weekends away are always a good idea. They’re exhausting
and of course long, but it’s amazing how much you can squeeze into 3 days in a
new city.

Berlin is a much talked about city, with its chilled out vibe, delicious food (hello bratwurst and all the burgers!) and so much history to take in on top of it all.

So with us all in need of
a holiday, we booked the cheapest flights over to Berlin, grabbed ourselves a central
hotel in Checkpoint Charlie and packed our bags. Going at the end of February,
the Christmas markets were long gone, but the charm was still there.

Even if it
did rain 2 out of the 3 days we were there. Thanks, Berlin.

Day 1 - Exploring Berlin

We flew out on an eye-watering 6am flight. I am not a morning
person and I’m now sworn off flights that early. Landing in Berlin, you can
either buy a 72 hours transport ticket, or if like us, you’re not sure what your
plan is and how often you’ll be using the subway, then get a day ticket.

It's worth noting that the subway system in Berlin is next to nothing. It's easy once you get the hang of it and is super cheap to boot. A 7 euro day ticket will take you anywhere on the ABC lines (includes the airport).

After checking into the hotel early and resisting the urge
to nap, we set off to explore Berlin and soak in some sunshine. We stopped off
at Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie for the standard tourist photos, picking up food
as we went.

Next stop was Schloss Charlottenburg, a stunning instagram-worthy palace. It's the largest in Berlin and you can even tour the inside. Not wasting any time, we set off for a perfect first dinner in Berlin at a really lovely little
italian place that doesn't judge you for looking like wet tourists. What more
could you want?

Day 2 - Berlin Zoo, the Wall and Burgers

With a bit of sun creeping through the clouds, we set off
for breakfast nearby at Cafe Einstein, slightly more pricey than other cafes
around, and not sure if it was actually worth the hype, but the food was good.

Berlin Zoo is a short train ride away in the Tiergarten district. I’d
imagine the park would look beautiful in summer, like a mini Central Park. As
luck would have it, 45 minutes in to us entering the zoo, it rains. When it
rains in Berlin, it’s not like in the UK where you can take shelter for 10
minutes and it’ll pass in the time you get a drink.

No, it just rains for the rest of the day.

Berlin Zoo is the oldest zoo in Berlin, their enclosures are large (which I loved) and
you feel as though you could reach across and just touch the animals. Save for
the trenches separating you, we were probably about 6 ft away from a majestic elephant
and one angry zebra.

The national animal of Berlin is the bear and that was by
far my favourite part. You'd never guess, right? I did have the urge to burst out like Agnes and be like "IT'S SO FLUFFY".

If you get cold, like us, then you can choose to huddle up
in one of the many cafes on site, or pop in the lion or monkey buildings for a
bit of warmth (which we discovered at the end of the day).

With hungry stomachs, we picked up pretzels and crepes on
the way over the TV tower in Alexander Platz – best decision ever. The crepes
in the Alexander Platz subway station and the pretzels and bratwurst pastries in Tiergarten subway station were
delicious and cheap. 70c for a pretzel that was warm, salty and all kinds of
delicious and 3 euros for a Nutella crepe that I could have eaten over and over again.

TV Tower in Alexander Platz stands at 368m high and the lift
ride to the observation deck is sure to give you vertigo. In what feels like seconds, the lift reaches an altitude of 200m (!), with the observation deck sitting at
203m high. Wowza. (Note: don't look up in the lift... just don't.)

It was a murky day, so we lost a bit of view in the far distance
but despite this, the 360 views were still incredible. You can get tickets on the door for 13 euros and expected
wait of 30mins (on average).

That evening, our mission was to have a Burgermeister. I've
heard so many great things about their food that I wasn't leaving without
trying one. I was a girl on a burger mission.

Just as the sun was going down, we walked along the East Side Gallery, an iconic piece of the Berlin Wall that has a mixture of street art and professional artists. Some of it was covered in fencing, which kinda killed any hope of good pictures, but it was still a highlight of the trip.

Crossing over the Oberbaum Bridge, if you're going when it's dark, it lights up the river and the bridge is something straight outta Hogwarts. Seriously.

Set in the middle of two busy streets is the infamous
Burgermeister. With queuing customers out the door, it's small with only standing
room inside and a few tables outside. Opting for some semblance of warmth, we
huddled inside and waited for our orders.

I can highly recommend their BBQ burger. Drool. It had bacon
in, so that was me sold. Sadly, no pictures of the masterpiece which I quickly
devoured because it was dark and Burgermeister clearly haven't considered
perfect instagram lighting yet. But they've got time until my next visit.

Our next stop was Que Pasa Mexicana nearby for cocktails. Having drank more in
alcohol than I had in water that day, the strong margaritas did hit the spot
for me. At 4 euros they are a bargain (strong too!) and a spot not to be missed out on if you are nearby.

Day 3 - Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial and Gendermanmarkt

Sunday brought more rain and the inevitable flight home.
It’s typical really that on our final day, we found the perfect breakfast spot. I highly recommend stopping by Thurmann Backerei and Konditorei on Friedrichstrasse for breakfast, They’re super lovely in there and patient too when you can't choose from their massive selection what to have.

Fed and hydrated, we made our way to the Topography of Terror, an indoor and outdoors museum that follows the history of Berlin and the second World War. We passed through Brandenburg Gate for some last photos before making our way across the road to the Reichstag.

The beautiful glass dome building houses parliament below and you will need to book a tour in advance. The dome has 360 views across Berlin and doesn't disappoint.

Our last afternoon in Berlin was spent wandering through the tall columns of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We then popped over to climb the French
cathedral in Gendermanmarkt. The 500+ steps felt like an eternity when we
started. It also made me realise how unfit I am, but it's worth it when you
reach the top and see the views from the dome.

You can even pop outside and walk around the
dome on a viewing platform (thanks for raining that day, Berlin) for views over
Gendermanmarkt, as well as the surrounding areas.

On our walk back to the hotel, we couldn't resist Fassbender and Rausch Chocolate shop.
Because it had been teasing us for the past 3 days every time we passed the door
and it’s home to Berlin’s best chocolate.

Filled with so many different percentages of chocolate, from
37% all the way to 75%, cabinets covered in over a hundred variations of
truffles, smaller confectionery bits from Berlin bears to little love hearts to
sticks of chocolate. This place is a chocolate lovers dream. I could have
bought more. But I controlled myself.

After picking a mini chocolate bear for every person I know.

It even has a cafe upstairs too, just in case you get a bit
too peckish. For 3 euros you can get a bag of 20 mini chocolates in any
percentage of chocolate you like, or opt for a selection box. Because why
choose one when you can have them all?

Stopping nearby our hotel for dinner and a German beer, we
then caught our flight home on full stomachs.

After a bumpy and delayed flight back, we got
home well into the morning. I definitely regretted not booking Monday off work
when my alarm went off at 7am after only 4 hours sleep. Rough didn’t even cover
it.

Auf Weirdersehen, Berlin! We'll be back for snow next time
and more crepes, pretzels and delicious burgers...